Former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider has confirmed her departure from the Bravo series wasn’t voluntary.
EntertainmentNow reported that Goldschneider stated that she had not been asked to return to the reality television series for its upcoming 15th season on a September 2026 episode of Page Six Radio.
“I’m not one of those people who’s going to bulls–t you and tell you like, ‘Oh, I left, I quit.’ I did not quit. We all know that nobody who got cut quit. Okay? Let’s just put that out there,” said the lawyer, who announced her RHONJ departure earlier this year.
She also clarified she wasn’t surprised by her firing, as she had been demoted to a “friend of” during the show’s 13th season. Goldschneider had a full-time role on RHONJ from Season 9 to 12.
“I was also a friend for the last two years. So, I sort of knew it was coming. I knew they were going to change the cast, and we had two years before we got that phone call. So I kind of got back into my regular life,” said Goldschneider.
Goldschneider also said she was pleased that only Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, and Teresa Giudice were invited to film Season 15. According to Goldschneider, Gorga, Catania, and Giudice were the RHONJ Season 14 castmates she didn’t have major conflicts with.
Goldschneider also shared that she would return to RHONJ if given the opportunity.
Jackie Goldschneider Discussed Becoming a ‘Friend of’ in Season 13
Goldschneider got candid about her RHONJ demotion in a 2023 Us Weekly’s Getting Real with the Housewives podcast interview. Goldschneider shared that becoming a “friend of” was “a little bit of an ego punch.” However, she found filming Season 13 wasn’t all that different from her past seasons as a main RHONJ cast member.
“I love this show and I love Bravo, so I wanted to stay a part of it. So, going in it was a little rough because I didn’t really understand what a ‘friend’ did, but once I got into it, I didn’t really feel different about my job. I did my job exactly the same as I always have done,” said the mother of four during the Getting Real with the Housewives interview. “I went into every scene, I moved story along, I gave my opinion on everything, and the cameras were constantly on me. I was a part of every single cast event and cast trip. Once I took my ego out of it, then I was able to fully embrace it and I think I had probably one of my best seasons.”